– The scenario is one the Redskins welcome. It’s also one that has cost them two potential victories. Their highly-rated defense… on the road… with a lead … against a good quarterback.
They faced that in Dallas. And lost.
They faced that in Philadelphia. And lost.
“As a defense, you want the game like that, to be on your shoulders,” corner Carlos Rogers said. “To not close out the last two games is frustrating.”
In fairness, the defense held Dallas to seven points and the Redskins still managed to lose thanks to an unproductive offense. But Sunday, the Redskins scored 24 points and the Eagles had lost their top receiver, DeSean Jackson, to a third-quarter injury.
Yet they managed two fourth-quarter drives Sunday, covering 90 and 66 yards, respectively. One resulted in a touchdown and subsequent game-tying two-point conversion. The other in the game-winning field goal.
But more stopping teams on their last drives, the Redskins’ eighth-ranked defense has not been shutting down the ground game lately. And considering what New Orleans has rushing the ball – Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell both have rushed for more than 564 yards while Reggie Bush is averaging 5.0 yards per carry – the Redskins must stop the run. Otherwise, the Saints’ offense, dangerous with just its passing attack, will explode.
Dallas rushed for 153 yards while Philadelphia, which ranked 18th in rushing yards per game, finished with 123 yards.
It’s not just long gains, either. Of the last 56 carries by opposing running backs, 28 have gone for at least four yards and 23 have been for at least five yards. Only three runs have resulted in negative yardage.
And it’s not just as simple as defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth missing the past two games. He will return Sunday.
“He’s a disruptive player and you don’t have many 6-foot-6, 350-pound All-Pro players around,” linebacker London Fletcher said, “so when you lose him, it’s a void… But some of those issues Albert wouldn’t have made a difference because it’s about fitting a gap.”
“We can’t wait to have him back,” defensive tackle Kedric Golston said. “At the end of the day, everyone is capable. It’s not an excuse. I don’t think anyone accepts that as an excuse.”
Indeed, the Redskins allowed 3.8 yards per carry in 2008; and 3.7 the previous year.
Besides, not every run has come up the middle. Offenses still double team one of the Redskins defensive tackles; Cornelius Griffin often occupies two blockers. In some cases, it’s linemen being blocked; in other cases, it’s trying to stop the run with the nickel defense, which features more defensive backs. Philadelphia caught Washington in that often. The Eagles forced the Redskins into a handful of situations in which they only had six defenders in the box. Or Washington was forced to stay with its two-deep safety set to guard against the big pass play, another bugaboo.
Poor run fits is another issue. Defenders often are assigned a gap to fill on run plays; if they attack the wrong shoulder of the blocker in that gap, it can cause an opening.
“Some of it is schematic, trying to take away certain players and you pick your poison,” safety Reed Doughty said. “Some of it is younger guys still figuring out where you fit.”
“That’s an issue we have to deal with,” linebacker London Fletcher said. “Until you stop a team and hold somebody to 50, 60, 70 yards rushing, we’ll continue to get that attack. [The Eagles] hit us with runs we practiced all week. When we know what’s going to happenand know the formation and don’t stop it, it’s very discouraging.”
